Deep dive article: 70+ Slate prototypes built already -- "Inside the stealth production facility"

[Daley]

Giant asterisk on the first statement: Model 3 is under $35K today with federal tax credit.

Base price for a Model 3 right now is $42.5K , which is $15k more than the Slate's estimated base, which is 55% higher than Slate's estimated base price.

You thought the $20k Slate price didn’t factor in the rebate? Maybe check out the FAQ on their website.

 

[Daley]

Their $20K price target (not $25K) has always been quoted as after tax credit, not before. It would not surprise me if it ends up being $25K after tax credit though, everything seems to just keep going up in price.

What I was referring to is that most automakers start high on price and *promise* to work their way down to the advertised price, eventually. It never happens but people apparently still believe them because that’s what they want to hear and believe.

 

[Daley]

I get by just fine with just a phone for nav in my FJ...and that phone is an iPhone SE.

How many people do you think are doing that today? In 2027?

 

[TexasSlate]

You thought the $20k Slate price didn’t factor in the rebate? Maybe check out the FAQ on their website.

Who said anything about $20K?

$42.5K (price of Tesla M3) - $15K = $27.5K, which is the estimated price of the Slate without a rebate. My expectation is that the rebate is gone in the next year, so there's no point factoring that into the equation.

Without the rebate, the Tesla M3 is 55% more expensive than a Slate at $27.5K. These two vehicles aren't really in the same market space.

 

[cvollers]

How many people do you think are doing that today? In 2027?

I have no idea. But Slate seems to think a fair number of people will be fine just using their phones and I have to assume that they did some market research before making their product decision.

 

[Daley]

Who said anything about $20K?

$42.5K (price of Tesla M3) - $15K = $27.5K, which is the estimated price of the Slate without a rebate. My expectation is that the rebate is gone in the next year, so there's no point factoring that into the equation.

Without the rebate, the Tesla M3 is 55% more expensive than a Slate at $27.5K. These two vehicles aren't really in the same market space.

You’re comparing the 2025 price of a Model 3 to your imagined price of a 2027 Slate.

And you’re mistaken because, as I’ve pointed out several times now, no one is buying a new Slate for the advertised price anytime soon after it’s released.

The three of you are all free to continue deluding yourselves about the price of the Slate. I won’t be doing that.

 

[Daley]

I have no idea. But Slate seems to think a fair number of people will be fine just using their phones and I have to assume that they did some market research before making their product decision.

So you’ve decided to abandon rational thought in favor of what you assume about what Slate researched. I still think, however, that the overwhelming majority of Slate owners will stick an iPad on the dash.

 

[atx_ev]

I agree 100%. All of the doomsayers (YouTube influencers prone to clickbait drama tactics like using words like "FAIL" and making cartoonish O-faces in their thumbnails) always use the same thinking, that because people buy big 4-door pickups that "PROVES" that everybody wants big 4-door pickups. Fact: a lot of people wait until their current daily driver dies a sudden death to go out and buy a new ride. They choose something off the lot that fulfills emotional needs like the desire to impress friends. Dealers know this, so they stock loaded vehicles and reap higher profits. They do have a few barebones vehicles around, but they hide them in back. This is normal auto industry sales tactics. The big auto companies are obsessed with huge profits and use such tactics to achieve those profits. It's unethical, but also no one is putting a gun to the buyer's head to make them behave the way they do. We all could employ a little emotion control and just say no to these high prices.

I'm not in the poorhouse, but I'm not rich, either. I'm a holdout. I haven't bought a new (or used) vehicle in 27 yrs because I hate modern vehicles. I don't hate them because I hate tech (I don't. I love tech, I custom built this PC I'm on right now). But I don't want to be buried in tech in my mode of transportation. My eyes are on the ROAD when I'm driving. And I hate all the ridiculous features cars are loaded with nowadays. And modern vehicles are not DIY friendly like vehicles made pre-2000s. I'm never going to buy a vehicle that REQUIRES me to take it to get basic maintenance and common repairs like a belt change or water pump. And a $900 payment for 72 or more months PLUS the full coverage insurance required throughout the span of that auto loan. Also, I don't suffer from "keeping up with the Jones's" syndrome.

Last week, I made a point to count all the kinds of trucks on the roads (I normally pay almost no attention to these things). I excluded big rigs and box trucks, etc, just counted PU trucks, and I didn't take an exact count, but over the course of about 20 minutes I probably spotted roughly ~100 trucks. Out of those, I saw ~3-5 total big (full size) 2-door trucks (only 1 of them was a std cab, the rest were ext cab), only 2 old 80s or 90s small trucks (like the Toyota SR5) and literally all the rest were big 4-door trucks (so about 93%) and nearly all of them had no tools or equipment in the bed and nothing attached to that tow hitch and only one occupant: a lonely bro who enslaved himself to a massive debt for what purpose?

Everybody's in a fantasyland, wishful thinking mode, dreaming what they want as opposed to what they actually need.

I truly believe that Slate is going to be big, especially with growing companies needing fleet trucks to do basic install/repair work around town and little startup companies that just need that first truck. AM/FM radio not required. Long battery range not required. Huge payload rating not required. Huge towing capability not required. Off-roading winch not required. AWD not required. Oil changes not required. Radiator coolant not required. Dealer markups not required. Sales commission not required. Insecure bro masculinity-signalling not required.

Another reason Slate will be big with companies is the easy repairability: if a worker bashes into a telephone pole, they can self-swap out a fender or tailgate panel in an hour with common tools as opposed to sending the truck to a professional body shop for several days. And why pay for paint when you're just going to slap on a vinyl wrap with all your company info on it? Companies with multiple Slate Trucks in their fleet can stock fenders and vinyl wrap panels ready for install that day, making upkeep a breeze.

I also believe this concept is going to be way more popular with regular folk like me than the naysayers think. Everybody, literally everybody, is sick and tired of car prices. SA will introduce another model (I predict a small 2-door sedan with a smaller battery and smaller price), not an SUV or minivan) and within 5 yrs will open another factory.

The modularity and simplicity of the Slate Auto business model is WAAAAAAAAAY overdue.

I hate spending money on cars. A car is to get me from point a to point b. I also do a lot of dirty sports. Hunting (blood, fur), kitesurfing (salt/sand/water), mountain biking, camping. I never wash my truck because I like it dirty. It has scrapes and dings so I dont care if I get more scrapes and dings.

I do love my 2010 tundra crewmax, but I dont need a huge truck. It can be hard to park and navigate narrow streets because it is so big. I found myself naturally driving my wifes minivan a lot of the time because it was easier to drive.

I absolutely hate infotainment systems. Car manufacturers make the worst ones. I just want to use my phone.

There are other things I want available in the slate, but I use my 4wd in my tundra like 2-3 days every few years at the most. I have 3 kids so it would be nice to have that second row of seats for the kids.

I think the very next version will extend the bed and allow you to have the SUV seats with a shorter cap so you can have two rows of seats with the same size bed.

My wife just got a 70K mercedes, it requires a $1000 service every year.

 

[cvollers]

So you’ve decided to abandon rational thought in favor of what you assume about what Slate researched. I still think, however, that the overwhelming majority of Slate owners will stick an iPad on the dash.

I honestly don’t care if you think it’s irrational. It works for me. See, no tablet, no screen, no infotainment. Just damn good Bluetooth, speakers, and a CD player. That thing on the left is a magnetic Carmount.

 

[GaRailroader]

You’re comparing the 2025 price of a Model 3 to your imagined price of a 2027 Slate.

Imagined price of the Slate? This is $1 more than the maximum possible base price when manufacturer gives guidance of less than $20k after federal tax credits. Doesn’t seem imagined to me.

 

[GaRailroader]

And you’re mistaken because, as I’ve pointed out several times now, no one is buying a new Slate for the advertised price anytime soon after it’s released.

And you know this how?

 

[cvollers]

And you know this how?

He doesn’t because as of now, no actual price has been advertised.

 

[GaRailroader]

The three of you are all free to continue deluding yourselves about the price of the Slate. I won’t be doing that.

Deluding? This is based on the manufacturers press release, no? If you choose not to believe it then that is your choice. It doesn’t mean others are deluding themselves.

 

[cvollers]

Deluding? This is based on the manufacturers press release, no? If you choose not to believe it then that is your choice. It doesn’t mean others are deluding themselves.

I could be wrong (I'm not), but as far as I have seen, all Slate has said is that their target price is less than $20K after federal incentives. That's it. Not how much below $20K and not how much before the incentives. Any number you choose to think is the price is simply pure speculation and is not based on fact.

 

[Slashsnake]

I could be wrong (I'm not), but as far as I have seen, all Slate has said is that their target price is less than $20K after federal incentives. That's it. Not how much below $20K and not how much before the incentives. Any number you choose to think is the price is simply pure speculation and is not based on fact.

That's right. Card and Driver and Motor Trend as well as a slew of other sources have put the price at $27k to $27.5k before incentives and Slate has not corrected that to anything new.

Obviously for a PR release though they are going as low as they think could be possible. So everything ramps up perfect, inflation keeps to the lowest potential expected outcome, global supply situation is perfect...

And we see that with those projections, time and again (model 3, Lucid Air, Cybertruck, R1T/S), we get that price creep over a couple years till they actually come out a bit higher (15-20%) pretty consistently.

So sure, by 2027 I doubt even the base will be $30k, but probably will hit close to that, making it right in there as the lowest cost truck. The question is how will it compete with the capability/convenience/features of that competition.